The
failure of Britain and India to sign a key memorandum
of understanding on the return of illegal migrants during Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s visit on Wednesday has been greeted with surprise, as the
agreement was seen as a key element of the visit.
As
recently as January, the MoU, which would have updated a previous agreement
that expired in 2014, was pegged as one of the central pieces of the bilateral
visit, building on an issue repeatedly raised by Britain. During her visit to
India in 2016, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.K. would consider
an improved visa deal, “if, at the same time, we can step up the speed and
volume of returns of Indians with no right to remain in the U.K.”
During
a visit by Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu and Minister of State
for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, it appeared that an agreement on the terms of
the memorandum had been reached, with plans for the Memo to be signed during
the prime ministerial visit. The signing — which would have been seen as a
gesture of goodwill from India — would have placed the onus on Britain to
deliver on Indian requests around visas for professionals and students, thereby
making a crucial breakthrough in issues that have presented challenges to the
bilateral relationship.
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